National convention: PDP North-West leaders fail to agree on sharing formula for offices

A meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders from the North-West states to arrive at a sharing formula for posts zoned to the area at the forthcoming national convention of the party in Port Harcourt ended in a deadlock in Kaduna, on Monday.

The zone, which comprises Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi and Sokoto states, has been allotted 11 positions to be shared among them.

The meeting, held at Bafra Hotel, was to discuss, among other things, how the zone could forge a united front and harmonise the agenda ahead of the convention scheduled for the Rivers State capital on August 17.

Out of the 11 positions zoned to the North by the PDP headquarters in Abuja, the North-West had been allocated four slots; North-East, three while the North-Central had four.

The key posts zoned to the North-West are national secretary, national woman leader, deputy legal adviser and deputy treasurer.

However, sources at the meeting said it ended in a deadlock because of lack of compromise among the interested power blocs from the zone.

The PDP national vice chairman (North-West), Ambassador Ibrahim Kazaure, who briefed newsmen after the meeting, said the positions would be shared among the old Sokoto State comprising Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi States; old Kano State consisting of Kano and Jigawa and the old Kaduna State made up of Kaduna and Katsina states.

However, he stated that at the end of the meeting, no consensus was reached on any position because of many interests.

He, however, said, a committee of 12 persons had been constituted to resolve the logjam. The committee is to meet on Friday to look into the various interests and come out with an agreed positions of the zone.

“The states that make up the old Sokoto states will produce the national secretary, while Kaduna State will produce the national woman leader,” he said.

Prominent among PDP stalwarts at the meeting were the national caretaker committee chairman, Senator Ahmed Makarfi; former Governors Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Attahiru Bafarawa (Sokoto), Malam Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina) and Ramalan Yero (Kaduna).

Also in attendance were former Aviation Minister (state) and now Kaduna State chairman of the party; former organising secretary, Mustapha Abubakar; former Kaduna State deputy governor, Ambassador Nuhu Bajoga, as well as state party chairmen from the North-West zone.